I was in my grandmother's house when I thought this up. I had nothing but my phone. Literally spent the next thirty minutes typing up a summary and sequence in 'Notes' hahaha!

ANNOUNCEMENT: I've lost my spark for "ENGAGED?!" so I'll be posting stories even if that isn't done. I WILL FINISH IT but I need to get some of my ideas for other stories out of my system by posting them.

Read and Review guys =)

DISCLAIMER: How many times do I have to say this? I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 1: Fate Must Hate Uchiha Sasuke

It's been over a year since the fourth ninja war was waged. Konoha had managed a victory and now the ninja world was in some state of peace; save for some small attacks every now and then that were led by a few of the survivors who were all too faithful to the fallen Uchiha Madara. That was a peaceful as the ninja world could get.

Dark eyes stared at the familiar gates, the wind blowing at his spiky hair. Uchiha Sasuke gazed thoughtfully at the tall wooden gates that were flanked by a squad of young looking Jounin, newbies he presumed from the way they held themselves. He fought back the smirk that was forming on his face. The last time he was here, he had fully intended to destroy the village. He'd almost been successful too, if the answers of the Third Hokage had been any different, he would've gladly and swiftly blown the village into smithereens; thankfully, for the village's sake, the answers he got had cleared his head of that dark cloud of confusion and hate. Sasuke was brought back to the present by one of the Jounin's laughter. This time his reasons for being here were different; very different.

Sasuke jumped down from the tree he was perched on and began walking to that gate that was now only a few meters away.

Uchiha Sasuke was coming home.

He was older now, though the Uchiha still looked pretty much like himself when he was sixteen. Save for a couple of inches added to his height and the muscles that had developed even more from his constant training and battles. His face, although losing its child-like qualities still looked as beautiful; Sasuke was a battle scarred nineteen year old with a face that looked completely and utterly angelic. Such a contradiction to what he was. He sighed when thoughts of his fan girls entered his mind. No doubt they'd be happy about his much awaited return to the village.

He stopped abruptly when he heard a faint 'Woosh.' Dark eyes narrowed, it seemed that some people weren't so happy about his presence. His senses picked up the sounds of metal hurling though the air. Sasuke drew his sword to block a flurry of shuriken and kunai that came at him from all directions. An ambush? He scoffed, it wasn't possible. He was the last Uchiha. Nobody was stupid enough to ambush him. Plus, he'd hidden his chakra. He was virtually undetectable unless seen directly.

Sasuke lazily searched for the chakra of his assailant. He wanted this to end quickly. "Behind." Sasuke blocked a kick from behind by sidestepping to the right. He grabbed the attacker by the calf and jerked the pest forward making whoever attacked him lose their balance. These were simple tricks but Sasuke wanted to avoid using too much chakra. It may be hidden but jutsus always ooze out chakra, no matter how well a ninja concealed their chakra in his or her body, it will prove useless when you start using jutsus. And Sasuke did not want to risk the village finding out that he was here—he didn't want that; not yet.

"Ugh." He heard the mystery attacker say, it was a girl, he guessed. The voice was too female to be anything but. Sasuke's eyes widened when he felt the female use the force from his pull to catapult herself above him, freeing herself from his grasp in the process. His ears picked up the sound of swords being unsheathed, the sound of metal against the sheath a signal that she was done playing. ANBU? Sasuke thought when he eyed the female clad in the standard ANBU uniform; a mask hiding her features. The only thing displayed was her dark brown hair.

The sole Uchiha watched her land soundlessly, a katana in each hand. As soon as one foot met the ground, she bounded towards him; poised for an attack. Sasuke decided that it was time to stop playing as well; the Sharingan glowed red as he raised his sword. He was not aiming to block the attacks anymore. He was aiming to slash her first.

Sasuke ran to her letting a little chakra coat the sword, his electric chakra sparked and cackled from his Kusanagi as he picked up speed. Both ninjas eyed each other in determination before dashing faster and swinging their swords when they both were close enough.

SLASH

The momentum propelled them further even after they'd slashed at each other. Sasuke was now where the ANBU previously was and the ANBU now stood where Sasuke had been standing a few seconds ago. The two sword wielders were breathing a little heavily as they lowered their swords. Both were silently waiting for the other to drop to their knees.

Sasuke looked down and was surprised to see a clean slash through his black shirt. He raised an eyebrow. This girl wasn't half as bad as he thought. Many a powerful ninja have tried to kill him and not one has managed to slip through his defenses. Let alone manage to rip through his shirt. Sasuke whirled around when his ears picked up a faint THUMP; something hit the ground.

The ANBU's mask broke apart into two pieces and fell into the ground, revealing the enraged face of someone he knew. Sasuke heard her mutter a few curses when she saw her mask drop to the ground with a dull thud. Something didn't add up. The face he was seeing couldn't be hers, it wasn't possible. This ANBU couldn't be…

"Sakura." He heard himself say when he saw her previously dark brown hair begin slowly to lighten; it went through several light shades of brown and blonde before returning to its natural color; pink. Sasuke was impressed, focusing chakra to a certain part of one's body and keeping it there took control; lots of it. He stared her emerald green eyes that darkened in rage, and what looked like confusion, when he had absentmindedly uttered her name.

The two estranged team mates were silent for a few moments before Sakura opened her mouth to speak. Her tone was quipped, "How do you know my name?" she asked as if it was a shock that he knew her name. Sasuke went a little rigid; his shoulders tensed and his jaw hardened. Was this some sick psychological way to make him feel guilty? He glared at Sakura. What was that comment supposed to mean? And why the fuck was he getting a strange heavy feeling in his stomach?

Sakura, bothered by his lack of explanation, threw a kunai at him that he'd blocked as if he were swatting an annoying insect. The exposed ANBU allowed herself to feel a little awed. at the sheer power he exuded. So this was Uchiha Sasuke. She looked him in the eyes without flinching at their intensity and asked again. "I said, how do you know my name?" she held his gaze steadily, waiting for his answer.

Her question rang in his ears while Sasuke searched her face for any holes in her façade; any form of recognition that peeked through so he could prove to himself that Sakura wasn't bluffing. That she was toying with him and was aiming to flood him with guilt. Anything that proved that Haruno Sakura had not forgotten Uchiha Sasuke.

"You don't know who I am?" he asked, his voice chillingly calm despite the flurry of confusion and irritation inside of him. Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Of course I know who you are." She sounded insulted, as if knowing him was a must.

That's it. A smirk made its way to his lips. Sasuke was pleased, he found it; He found the hole in her act. Sakura was bluffing—playing with him. The fact that she felt insulted when he implied that she didn't know him was proof enough.

A thought came into his head and the feeling of triumph he had felt, only mere seconds ago, disappeared. He frowned. Why did she give it away so easily? There was no way she'd be ANBU if she let enemies see right through her act. They were trained to counter their enemies' every attempt to see through their bluff. Was this carelessness at her part? Sasuke glanced at Sakura's broken mask. No, something was still wrong. He looked back up at her and realized that she wasn't done speaking.

"You were in every bingo book. How could I not know you? Your criminal record is endless." Sakura's glare intensified. "But, how do you know who I am?" He could hear the genuine confusion and slight panic in her voice. She didn't know who he was—Haruno Sakura genuinely did not recognize Uchiha Sasuke.

And he couldn't understand why.

When her mask slid off Sakura knew things had taken the turn for the worst. Her eyes found his black ones and she noticed the flash of recognition in his face. She presumed it to be shock until... she let go of her jutsu, then it became clear that this rogue ninja somehow knew her .Never being one to fret easily, she'd chalked it up to him having seen her during the war but when he'd said her name directly and in that tone, she panicked. She was a famous medic so her name got out but the way he said it. It was as if he knew her.

She watched as he battled an internal conflict, maybe he'd made a mistake? Sakura's eyes narrowed. She'd just come back from her mission wherin she was to see if any small revolutions were being planned. After all it's only been a few years since the war and enemy survivors were still pretty sore from their defeat. She'd been on her way back when she spotted the Uchiha making his way to the village. Her mentor's words popped into her head. "Attack if necessary, we don't need another skirmish—no matter how small." Sakura was sure that Uchiha Sasuke was capable of more than just a small commotion; so she attacked.

Thoughts slid through her mind as she walked slightly faster than the Uchiha.

They were currently outside the Hokage's office, Sakura, refusing assistance, had dragged the Uchiha, literally by the back of his shirt, by herself to the Hokage Tower hoping to clear the matter up as quickly as possible. Because she needed answers and she needed them now.

She knocked three times before getting impatient and bursting in her brown hair (she'd gotten her focus back and had turned it brown again to keep her identity as hidden as possible) flying as she burst inside. Tsunade met her with a stern gaze. "You couldn't wait three seconds for me to say 'Come in'?" her mentor asked sarcastically. She was beginning to think that her student was hanging around Naruto too much.

Usually, Sakura would've gotten flustered and annoyed-somtimes both, but today she had a look of utter seriousness. Tsunade took note of this before sliding her amber gaze to the person Sakura was holding by his shirt. Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Uchiha Sasuke." Came her deep voice.

"Hn. Hokage-sama." He answered calmly, as if him being the in the village was of the norm. The Hokage motioned for the two to sit. "Explain." She demanded, that one word holding a lot more gravity than it should, indicating that she wanted to know everything.

Sakura spoke first. "I was returning from a mission when I found him." Sasuke stiffened at the tone she used to indicate him; it seemed too harsh to have come from her, what was her problem? Wasn't she the one who attacked him first? He fixed her with a small glare that she blatantly ignored. His eyes narrowed further. Haruno Sakura just ignored him. What the fuck happened to her?

Despite the cold glare she knew she was getting from the missing nin, Sakura continued with the mission report. "Your orders were to attack if necessary to avoid another one of those small commotions and so I engaged." Sasuke noticed how de-attached she sounded. He'd tuned the rest of her report out; he didn't need a recap of what just happened a few minutes ago. Even he was still confused over what happened.

"Shishou…he knows me." Sakura looked at her mentor; her eyes holding confusion.

Tsunade's head began to hurt. She studied her student's confused face and Sasuke's, equally as confused one. The situation was much too complicated; she didn't know where to start. She had a confused ANBU, a returning missing nin, and they both wanted answers. Tsunade sighed. She'd have to deal with them separately.

"Sakura, I want a mission report submitted tomorrow morning at ten o' clock." She glanced at Sasuke. "Leave the last part out. You are not to divulge any information about what happened to anyone until I give the say so. You're dismissed." "But Shishou!—Tsunade stifled her compliant with a steely look. "You're dismissed."

Sakura clenched her jaw. "Hai." She muttered before doing a series of complicated hand seals and disappearing in a cloud of smoke, leaving the Hokage alone with the last remaining Uchiha. Sasuke's eyes motioned her to start talking. "Why doesn't she remember me?"

Tsunade held up her hand. "I ask the questions, Uchiha. When I'm satisfied then I might answer yours." She rumbled, weaving her fingers together in a thoughtful position her eyes however we ablaze with annoyance. Sasuke leaned back. "Hn." He grunted in agreement.

"Why are you here?" she asked him directly. "If you're planning another siege—Sasuke had to scoff at that. If he'd come for another attack, he'd have attacked her the moment the door opened. "No, I'm not planning another attack." The war was over, at least, to him. He was done. Tsunade glared at him for his interruption but couldn't help but feel a wave of relief when she found out that he wasn't planning another fucking attack. Sasuke hesitated. "I came here to…stay."

Her mouth went a little slack. Uchiha Sasuke, the missing nin who despised Konohagakure so much as to wage war against it, was telling her that he'd come back to live here? That was one huge pill to swallow. "You attacked this village" she held up a hand to stop his incoming interruption. "You helped Madara attack this village. What makes you think I'd allow you to stay?"

"Who do you think killed Madara?" he quipped.

"Uzumaki Naruto" Tsunade answered, a little pride in her tone when she mentioned the blonde ninja. Blockhead he may be, but he has grown to be a ninja of high calibre (though he had yet to become a jounin) and she was a little proud of him.

"He had help." Sasuke answered; deadpan. Tsunade began to massage her temples. This boy wasn't answering her questions the way she wanted him to. All he gave her were single liners that gave her more questions than answers. With a sigh of utter frustration, she chose a different strategy. "Uchiha, I'm going to need more than that if you want me to let you live." It was time to bring out the execution card.

Sasuke raised an elegant eyebrow. He was the sole survivor of the Uchiha clan. He was the strongest. Did she really think pulling the death threat trick was going to scare him? Sasuke inwardly scoffed but applauded her efforts and decided to make her life a little easier; he'd cooperate. Sitting up a little straighter and looking at her straight in the eyes. "I joined Madara not just for the attack but for information." He started.

"But he was holding something back, and I wanted—I deserved more than that." He looked at Tsunade with such intensity that the Hokage had to break the stare. "The third hokage gave me the missing pieces." At this, Tsunade's eyes widened. So the boy finally got his information right.

"I found out about the curse of the Uchiha clan, the rivalry between the Uchiha and Senju, about Itachi…everything." He said quietly before heaving a sigh and relaxing. "I had Orochimaru reincarnate the third hokage…" Sasuke took a breath. "And he told me everything."

Sakura arrived back home in a flash, she was standing outside the veranda, her apartment door in front of her. She sorted through her keys before shoving the piece of metal hardware inside the lock and twisting it.

Her steely dismissal was still fresh in her mind. "Must be PMS." She muttered ungracefully before opening the door to her quaint little apartment that was on the second floor of the four storey building

. Her space wasn't as glamorous as Ino's but Sakura didn't like the idea of having to clean such a huge apartment so she opted for a smaller one. The apartment had hardwood floors, cream-colored walls. She had a kitchen in the left hand side; counters forming the shape of a square barricading the tiled part of the room completely save for a little space for her to walk in. It looked like a square with a gap at a corner. Between the kitchen and the living room, aside from a small dining table, was a narrow hallway that led to her bedroom on the right, one guestroom adjacent to her room and a bathroom at the end of the hallway.

Couch. The rosette thought as she eyed the two forest green love seats that were positioned in an 'L' formation at the right side of her apartment. Sakura set her things down by the couch when she reached it and sat plopped down, relishing as she felt the foam deflate slightly at the sudden application of weight. "Ah, comffyy." She purred, hugging a throw pillow. As she relaxed, events that happened earlier replayed in her mind. Green eyes shot open and landed on the small side table next to her couch.

Her apartment was pretty bare except for a little plate to hold her keys on the coffee table in front of her and a few pictures in frames on the side tables found on each side of her love seats. She eyed on particular photo; Her team photo.

They've been talking for an hour now and Tsunade truly believe that Uchiha Sasuke has finally resolved whatever the hell he was fighting inside of him and is now trying to right his mistakes. After his explanation, she'd relaxed a little.

Tsunade nodded in understanding. In truth, Uchiha Sasuke was just one of those unlucky people who were led to a dark path due to ignorance. He was a victim of fate, though he never really took on the role of victim, Sasuke never liked being the victim. He detested being seen as one. The Hokage gave him a reproachful look.

His ancestors screw ups had affected him greatly and now he was paying the price of both his and his ancestors' wrong doings. She felt a wave of sympathy for this lost boy wash over she'd pushed it down a little. He had a terrible past. But still, he had a choice, to live in darkness or to strive for the light, just as Naruto had.

Sasuke had chosen the dark path, despite the support of his friends, and committed his own share of morally wrong actions that inherited some form of punishment from her. The village elders were dead, and though they were annoying old bats, they were part of Konoha's political power tree.

"Probation until my say so, weekly check-ups with a psychiatrist and your chakra will be partially sealed. You will be put back to genin, since that had been your rank before you left. The Chuunin exams will be held next year, you'll be allowed to participate. If I see you fit." Tsunade stated rapidly, giving Sasuke a look that challenged him to disagree.

To her surprise the Uchiha grunted in agreement. He must've gotten the idea that he was let off easy; His only compliant being the unspecified timespan of his probation. Tsunade smirked. She knew that leaving him in the dark about how long his probation would tick him off; that was why she decided upon it in the first place.

Sasuke played with the rip on his shirt, courtesy of Sakura, before looking back up at Hokage. Tsunade grimaced, the look in his eyes had one message: 'I kept my part, now you keep yours.' With a sigh she glanced at the door, making sure that no one was to intrude.

"After the war, many of Konoha's shinobi had gotten traumatized." Sasuke furrowed his eyes. "I didn't know Madara and I were able to trap that many in genjustu." The slug sanin shook her head. "It wasn't just that. The sheer intensity of the war had driven many to an emotionally unstable state." The Uchiha's eyes widened slightly. Had the war really been that bloody and chaotic that it had driven many hardened shinobi to instability?

Tsunade continued. "It came to a point wherein I had to make the decision to suppress and alter some of their memories to bring them back to sanity. It was a hard decision to make, messing with their memories. But it had to be done…" Tsunade seemed to be gritting her teeth. "For months, I worked on the affected Shinobi." Her amber orbs met Sasuke's black eyes. She knew he was smart enough to figure it out. "I've altered and supressed some parts of the war. It was different for everyone. Sakura was the hardest."

Everything seemed to stand still in Sasuke's eyes. The room was so still that he thought he had his Sharingan activated. "I had to alter her memories." He heard her say, her voice seemed pained. Well, he was pained too. He understood why she had to do it, but WHY did she have to go so far as to erase him entirely? Anger, betrayal and denial coursed through out his being and threatened to consume him. He rose quickly and went straight for the door. "I will be taking up residence in an apartment until the Uchiha Compound is repaired." He said without emotion before he left, slamming the door as he exited Tsuande's office. "Shizune, get me Hatake Kakashi….And Uzumaki Naruto."

Sasuke never thought of himself being a victim, he never did. Victim mentality was stupid and useless; he wouldn't amount to anything if he thought like that. But in a general aspect, he was indeed a victim of fate. And it seemed that fate must hate Uchiha Sasuke.

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